The last 24 hours have been swirling over Tom King‘s future on Batman and we now have an answer as to what’s going on.

DC has revealed some of their strategy for 2020 and that focus is a tighter intertwined narrative across DC’s comic lineup. The first change is to Batman which currently Tom King is writing and his run was to go to at least issue #100.

Beginning in January 2020, Batman will return to a monthly shipping schedule from the current twice-monthly. The focus of the title will be to incorporate it more int o the DC Universe and continuity. Currently it, and other Bat-titles, have been doing their own thing with a loose connection to the rest of the DC Universe. A new 12-issue series, Batman/Catwoman by Tom King with art by Clay Mann will launch. Detective Comics, Catwoman, Nightwing, Batgirl, and other related titles will continue in 2020 with no immediate changes to their shipping schedules (read into that as you want).

Tom King’s run on Batman will begin to wrap up with Batman #75 which begins the “City of Bane” storyline. Tony S. Daniel is on art and that comes out July 17, 2019.

After three years being broken down by Bane, Bruce Wayne falls to his lowest point. Bane’s minions have moved into Gotham City, taken control and are ruling with an iron fist…and Batman is nowhere to be found.

That storyline brings together King’s past 74 issues. It runs for 11 issues featuring artwokg by Daniel, Mikel Janin, and Man and concludes in Batman #85 which is out December 2019. Add in the announced new series and King’s storyline will reach almost its intended length. King has indicated that the follow up to “City of Bane” would again focus on the relationship between Batman and Catwoman.

Batman and Catwoman is a chance to do what Morrison and Quietly did in Batman and Robin: launch an ambitious, accessible, beautiful, thrilling new series that concludes years of stories and defines what Batman is, can, and will be. This will be a comic about what the best Batman comics are always been about, how our greatest hero turns fear into bravery, pain into hope, trauma into love. It’s the story I always wanted to tell, and I’m telling it with the man I consider to be the greatest artist in comics, my brother Clay Mann

It’s a gift and a joy to be on that book. But I’m leaving it to work on the biggest, most ambitious projects of my career, comics I get to make with the best collaborators in comics. And that’s a gift and a joy too.

– Tom King

The above quote would indicate to expect more from the DC exclusive King as he references “projects.”

While speculation and rumors have run out of control as to why King is no longer on Batman, the answer sounds like DC is re-evaluating their entire line for 2020 with a greater focus on the DC Universe and continuity. Expect more shake-ups and changes (and hyperbole from other sites) over the next few months going in to San Diego Comic-Con.